


Touch

by Storine



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angry Kylo Ren, Angst, F/M, First Kiss, Force Bond, Oneshot, Post The Last Jedi, Romance, Touch-Starved, no one dies I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 03:05:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14607876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storine/pseuds/Storine
Summary: He makes her turn to face him. He is stronger, she can sense it in the air, in the way her limbs are totally unresponsive. His arm is raised towards her, his gloved fingers trembling. His jaw is clenching hard and his eyes are furious. This is not Ben Solo approaching her slowly, menacingly; no, Kylo Ren is the one facing her right now, closing the distance between them.Contrary to what she initially believed, Rey realizes she will probably not get out of this alive.“Scavenger”, he spits out, “finally.”(Set after TLJ. I basically wanted to get to the good part fast, so there's barely any story. Angst and fluff and whatnot. Enjoy!)





	Touch

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

In fact, things never quite go the way they are supposed to. Rey has learned that, by now. So why is she so surprised now?

It was a simple mission, really. She had been sent, along with Finn and Poe, to an old underground Rebel base from the Empire days. Apparently, ironically, it had been used as a secret First Order meeting point and may have held some vital information regarding the enemy. But their whereabouts had been linked to the First Order, somehow, and the old system inside the base had failed, and the only way they could  _ try _ to escape was by having one of them stay behind.

Rey had no choice but to knock Finn unconscious; he wouldn’t stop arguing with her, completely against the idea of leaving her there behind. She helped Poe to the small ship they had all come in, helped him to settle Finn comfortably. The pilot didn’t know her as much, wasn’t as close to her as Finn was; and deep down, he understood what Rey had tried to explain to her best friend. If someone was to stay behind to fight the First Order, she had the most chances of surviving the encounter.

“Take care of him”, she whispered. “I will see to it that you leave the planet unarmed.”

“Are you sure there is no…”

But Poe was cut short by Rey’s glare. So he bid her goodbye and good luck, and in no time, was finally leaving. With Finn. And with the plans they had found. 

Rey got to work at the main console of the base, keeping the gate open until her friends’ ship had crossed it. Next would be the First Order ships, coming after Poe and Finn. Rey closed her eyes, reaching out to the Force, guiding the ship safely until it can jump into hyperspace, and - 

The air is suddenly knocked out of her lungs.

_ Kylo Ren _ .

She feels him arriving, entering the cave where she still stands, but there’s little she can do. She absolutely  _ cannot _ let go of her concentration. Finn and Poe, hell, the whole Resistance depends on her right now!

Rey focuses all of her energy on keeping the First Order’s lasers away from her friends’ ship. On keeping them safe. She waits for them to make the jump, to get far away from here as fast as possible. As far as possible from  _ him _ .

When he finally walks in, the Force literally burning around him, Rey doesn’t turn around to face him. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t brace herself for what is to come, or prepares, or attacks him. She barely acknowledges his presence. Only a couple more seconds, that’s all they need. Only a couple more…

Poe makes the jump just as Rey feels herself freezing on the spot, her feet slowly leaving the ground as she floats a couple of inches off of it. The sensation is not foreign to her: it’s the same she felt in the forest on Takodana, when Kylo Ren got to her. Speaking of the devil, he makes her turn to face him. He is stronger, she can sense it in the air, in the way her limbs are totally unresponsive. His arm is raised towards her, his gloved fingers trembling. His jaw is clenching hard and his eyes are furious. This is not Ben Solo approaching her slowly, menacingly; no, Kylo Ren is the one facing her right now, closing the distance between them. 

Contrary to what she initially believed, Rey realizes she will probably not get out of this alive.

“Scavenger”, he spits out, “finally.”

He’s barely a foot away from her, now. He seems taller, more imposing than she remembers him. But again, Rey’s last memory of Ben - of  _ Kylo _ \- is him kneeling down, defeated, hurt by her rejection, his eyes never leaving hers until she shut the door between them, and, at the same time, severed their connection.

When he speaks again, his voice is a low growl, but just as angry. 

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for this?”

For what, exactly? Rey isn’t sure she wants the answer to that question.

He turns off his lightsaber, surprising her. She was convinced he was about to strike her down, get rid of the last Jedi in one deadly blow. But then, his eyes dart down to the hollow spot at the base of her throat and he takes off his gloves, trembling.  _ This is personal _ . He wants to feel the life escaping her lips as he crushes her neck, breaks her in two. She feels his rage, his pain.

_ I’m being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain.  _ Rey thinks of Han, of how he died at the hand of his own son. 

_ Will you help me? _

She already knows her answer to that question. Her eyes never leave his as his hands reach almost tenderly to push her hair out of the way. He takes another step, crowding her, drowning her. Tears roll down her face but Rey isn’t sad, isn’t scared. She feels the Force surrounding them, calming, reassuring.

A split second before their skins finally touch, she closes her eyes and lets out a breath she wasn’t aware of holding. In spite of herself, she whispers his name. This may well be her last word, and she is okay with that.

“Ben.”

His fingertips brush against her throat and send fireworks down her spine. Rey opens her eyes wide and sees Kylo - no, he’s not Kylo anymore, he’s back to being Ben - looking at her. Embracing her hungrily. His wrists rest on her, his thumbs on the skin of her throat. He lets a sigh escape his lips.

“I spent two years convincing myself that I wanted you dead,” he says slowly, barely a whisper. “I thought of how I would destroy you. I imagined a million ways to kill you. And in the end, I…”

Rey feels his grip on her limbs loosening. Her feet find the ground easily as he lets her back on the ground.

“You are  _ everything _ , Rey.”

His mind is open to her now, and she sees how he sees  _ her _ , glowing, powerful, a goddess among men. It surprises her, throws her off; she breaks eye contact with him, the vision too powerful and  _ bright _ even for her.

Ben falls to his knees, eyes up. His hands rest on the sides of her knees. He’s so tall that his head reaches just below her chest, raising painfully at each breath that she takes. Rey understands what he’s doing: he opened his guard, freed her, and now awaits her revenge. Her wrath.

Except there is none. Rey doesn’t want him dead. Even after all he’s done, all the pain he’s caused, she can still see the spark of light in him. Calling out. Reaching out. It hasn’t been extinguished yet, despite his best effort.

_ Balance _ . She needs the dark side, he needs the light. This is why the Force has been putting them in each other’s paths. To show them the new order of the universe. How things need to be.

So she lets her fingers settle on his scar, the one she graved into his face, and this time she barely shivers. He freezes on the spot but lets her touch him. She’s always been curious as to how the skin would feel to the touch. She follows the line down his face and down his throat and stops herself before she instinctively unzips his shirt (although her hands are aching for more contact).

“Ben”, she whispers, again and again.

His strong arms circle her waist and their bodies collide, crash into each other. Rey bends towards him and delicately brushes her lips on his forehead. The touch of her open mouth is enough to make him whimper; he unconsciously leans in, wanting more. Craving more. Of her. So she obliges. She kisses her way down his scar, tenderly, feeling him shaking beneath her touch as he closes his eyes. 

“Rey.  _ Please _ .”

She knows what he’s asking for, and he doesn’t need to repeat himself. She wants this just as much as him, maybe even more. It’s a craving she wasn’t aware that she had, but it makes sense now. They were both so alone; they balance each other. They complete one another. He needs her as much as she needs him.

Rey leans in a little more and softly, as if she’s afraid of breaking him into a million of pieces, she kisses his plump lips with her chapped ones. And  _ Force _ , the electricity that runs through her body is almost too much for her. Rey has to anchor herself by holding onto Ben’s square shoulders. He feels it too; his grip tightens almost uncomfortably around her middle.  _ Almost _ .

And then he kisses her too, lazily, slowly, tasting her as she’s tasting him. Visions of them standing side by side flash through her mind, similar to the one she had when they first touched hands.  _ The balance _ , she finally understands. It was never about turning one another. It was about stabilizing the scale.

Ben licks her bottom lip. Rey doesn’t think, forgets that she’s inexperienced and that she has no idea of what she’s supposed to do, and opens her mouth a little more to give him the access he’s asking.  _ You know I can take whatever I want. _

Yes. Take it all, Ben.  _ All of me. _

He lifts her up in his arms as he stands, letting her settle on the console she has been working with not too long ago. Her legs circle his waist. They break the kiss, catching their breath. And suddenly, she knows that Ben had the same epiphany as her. They know what they have to do. How it will all turn out. She smiles at him as he digs his fingers into her hair, massaging her scalp.

Footsteps are heard, probably some Stormtroopers coming to check on their leader, to see if the last Jedi is finally dead. Without turning their way, Rey and Ben simultaneously use the Force to close the heavy metal door before the unwelcome guests can walk in. They hold onto each other with their hands, their legs, their mouths, afraid of letting go. Afraid that the other one will disappear. But she is done running, now. And so is he.


End file.
